What time is Raymond Briggs’ Ethel and Ernest on tonight and who’s doing the voices?
This beautiful tale will warm your hearts
THE SNOWMAN has captured the spirit of Christmas for more than 30 years.
And there is more Raymond Briggs magic with the story of Ethel & Ernest.
What time is Raymond Briggs' Ethel and Ernest on tonight?
Ethel and Ernest starts tonight at 7.30pm on BBC Two.
The story airs at the same time as Celebrity Mastermind on BBC One, Coronation Street on ITV and Crocodile Dundee II on Channel 4.
The one-off movie was first released on TV and in cinemas in 2016, and has been shown each Christmas since.
Who's doing the voices and what is Ethel and Ernest about?
Vera's Brenda Blethyn and Oscar winner Jim Broadbent will be providing the voices for Raymond's parents.
The tale of Briggs' actual mum and dad was first told in his beautiful graphic novel in 1998.
They met in 1928 when Ernest spotted Ethel’s feather duster at the window; Ethel was a lady’s maid, Ernest a cheeky milkman.
Tracking the key moments of 20th Century London, including the Second World War, the tale follows the couple to the end of their lives, when Ethel tragically succumbs to dementia.
Ernest is a fireman in the war, after which he settles into an uneventful life.
By the time of the war, the couple had married, bought a house and had Raymond.
Aged five he was evacuated to family in Dorset, to his mum's distress.
The film touches on some dark subject matter - neighbours whose sons have been killed during the war, the schizophrenia of Raymond’s girlfriend – but does so in a very British manner, with restraint.
There are hints of satire about the British class system and the changing attitudes after the war, but doesn't make fun of the characters.
Roger Mainwood, the director, has faithfully captured Raymond's illustrations and breathed life into them, in this enchanting story.
A real-life Raymond Briggs opens the film, explaining how his parents might have felt to have their unexceptional life story turned into a film.